It's November!!! And that means there are tons of challenges for us creative types to be a part of. I highly recommend these kinds of challenges if you are feeling a lull in your creative juice or if you just want to build community with other artists. This month, I'm doing three. YUP. I said it. THREE. As in 1, 2, 3, GO...Art Every Day Month (AEDM2013)National Photo Posting Month (NaPhoPoMo)National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo)

For AEDM I'll be creating a small mandala each day in a Moleskine watercolor journal (the small pocket sized one). Some days I think I'll add color, but some days (like today) they will be black and white only. But I'll be creating every day. That's the whole point, right?

My idea to do small mandalas came from several sources of inspiration. First, my dear friend Muthoni Kiarie told me about a guy who was writing this blog where he shares something everyday that he is grateful for as a way to overcome depression in his recent years. I loved that kind of openness and willingness to share with the world. Then, I remembered my creative cohort Amy Egenberger had completed a prayer journal where she created "mandalitas" -- tiny mandalas each day as visual representations of her prayers. I LOVED the sacred element of this practice. You can see some of her mandalitas here. Then finally, I thought about my AEDM 2012 book of zendoodles and poems and thought I could springboard from that. There you have it, my three sources of inspiration.

So above is my first mandala for the month. And below I've posted some step-by-steps that I took as I was creating.

NaPhoPoMo Picture 1

Now for the newest challenge on the scene -- NaPhoPoMo -- started by one of my favs -- Karen Walrond, I took a picture of my view as I took a break from some writing. Want to know more about NaPhoPoMo? Go here.

My first NaPhoPoMo photo. This is what taking a break from writing looks like from my self-created writing retreat.

So I'm not as crazy as you might think. The three actually go hand in hand (or at least that's my rationale and justification for playing along with three challenges this month AND continuing to make books. Oh my. Yes. Book 44 is happening this week. Whew!! I'm getting my creative fill for sure. And I'm bubbling over with joy.